1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for heating and cooling enclosures. More particularly, the present invention relates to a heating and cooling system utilizing wind energy to generate electricity, which in turn is used by thermoelectric devices to effect interior heating or cooling of the enclosure. In a specific application, the present invention is employed to heat and cool the interior of a building, by converting wind energy to electrical energy for use by a thermoelectric heating and cooling device.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Presently, conventional heating and cooling systems for use with buildings employ electricity or petroleum to effect heating or cooling of the air within the building. In general, the electricity is produced by generators driven by internal combustion engines, steam turbines which use steam created by boiling water, gas turbines, or the like. In any event, petroleum and coal are the primary source of energy used to generate the electricity.
With the increasing cost of petroleum, coal and other hydrocarbons, there is an increasing demand for alternate sources of low-cost energy. One alternative source for generating low-cost electricity is nuclear energy which is presently under attack by many environmental groups. The use of solar and wind energy as a source of low-cost energy is still in the early stages of development. In any event, conservation of existing hydrocarbons is of utmost importance.
To this end, many systems have been developed to help conserve energy but have failed in one way or another. In the past, wind energy has been used to generate electricity as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,334,485; 1,355,672; and 1,978,143. These patents disclose an electric generator connected with a windmill. In a typical system, wind energy causes the windmill to rotate a generator which is connected to the windmill by a suitable drive arrangement. Generally, the electricity generated by windmills is used for illumination or to charge storage batteries so that power is available when there is no wind. The use of wind energy as a source of energy, has been very inefficient and impractical for generating electricity as a source of conventional household power. As for providing electricity for heating and cooling, the capacity of the windmill generators is of limited output and not capable of generating sufficient electrical power to operate conventional heating and cooling systems. Because of the variation in the output of the generator powered by wind energy, the conventional compressor type system cannot be easily adapted.